Production of l-Arginine by Arginine Hydroxamate-Resistant Mutants of Bacillus subtilis

l-Arginine hydroxamate inhibited the growth of various bacteria, and the inhibition was readily reversed by arginine. l-Arginine hydroxamate (10(-3)m) completely inhibited the growth of Bacillus subtilis. This inhibitory effect was prevented by 2.5 x 10(-4)ml-arginine, which was the most effective of all the natural amino acids in reversing the inhibition. l-Arginine hydroxamate-resistant mutants of Bacillus subtilis were isolated and found to excrete l-arginine in relatively high yields. One of the mutants, strain AHr-5, produced 4.5 mg of l-arginine per ml in shaken culture in 3 days.     

CREB represses p53-dependent transactivation of MDM2 through the complex formation with p53 and contributes to p53-mediated apoptosis in response to glucose deprivation

Recently, we have described that CREB (cAMP-responsive element-binding protein) has the ability to transactivate tumor suppressor p53 gene in response to glucose deprivation. In this study, we have found that CREB forms a complex with p53 and represses p53-mediated transactivation of MDM2 but not of p21^WAF1. Immunoprecipitation analysis revealed that CREB interacts with p53 in response to glucose deprivation. Forced expression of CREB significantly attenuated the up-regulation of the endogenous MDM2 in response to p53. By contrast, the mutant form of CREB lacking DNA-binding domain (CREBΔ) had an undetectable effect on the expression level of the endogenous MDM2. During the glucose deprivation-mediated apoptosis, there existed an inverse relationship between the expression levels of MDM2 and p53/CREB. Additionally, p53/CREB complex was dissociated from MDM2 promoter in response to glucose deprivation. Collectively, our present results suggest that CREB preferentially down-regulates MDM2 and thereby contributing to p53-mediated apoptosis in response to glucose deprivation.     

NCYM,a Cis-Antisense Gene of MYCN,Encodes a De Novo Evolved Protein That Inhibits GSK3β Resulting in the Stabilization of MYCN in Human Neuroblastomas

The rearrangement of pre-existing genes has long been thought of as the major mode of new gene generation. Recently, de novo gene birth from non-genic DNA was found to be an alternative mechanism to generate novel protein-coding genes. However, its functional role in human disease remains largely unknown. Here we show that NCYM, a cis-antisense gene of the MYCN oncogene, initially thought to be a large non-coding RNA, encodes a de novo evolved protein regulating the pathogenesis of human cancers, particularly neuroblastoma. The NCYM gene is evolutionally conserved only in the taxonomic group containing humans and chimpanzees. In primary human neuroblastomas, NCYM is 100% co-amplified and co-expressed with MYCN, and NCYM mRNA expression is associated with poor clinical outcome. MYCN directly transactivates both NCYM and MYCN mRNA, whereas NCYM stabilizes MYCN protein by inhibiting the activity of GSK3β, a kinase that promotes MYCN degradation. In contrast to MYCN transgenic mice, neuroblastomas in MYCN/NCYM double transgenic mice were frequently accompanied by distant metastases, behavior reminiscent of human neuroblastomas with MYCN amplification. The NCYM protein also interacts with GSK3β, thereby stabilizing the MYCN protein in the tumors of the MYCN/NCYM double transgenic mice. Thus, these results suggest that GSK3β inhibition by NCYM stabilizes the MYCN protein both in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, the survival of MYCN transgenic mice bearing neuroblastoma was improved by treatment with NVP-BEZ235, a dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitor shown to destabilize MYCN via GSK3β activation. In contrast, tumors caused in MYCN/NCYM double transgenic mice showed chemo-resistance to the drug. Collectively, our results show that NCYM is the first de novo evolved protein known to act as an oncopromoting factor in human cancer, and suggest that de novo evolved proteins may functionally characterize human disease.     

Properties of Polyphosphate Glucokinase in Achromobacter butyri

The activities of polyphosphate glucokinase which synthesizes glucose-6-phosphate from glucose and metaphosphate were found in some microorganisms. This enzyme occurred most abundantly in Micrococcus and Achromobacter species and less in Brevibacterium, Aerobacter and Alcaligenes species. The distribution pattern of this enzyme was closely similar to that of polyphosphate NAD kinase. Polyphosphate glucokinase in A. butyri was different from ATP-dependent glucokinase in some enzymatic properties. The potent phosphoryl donor for this enzyme was metaphosphate, and other chain or ring phosphate polymers were not utilized by this enzyme.     

n-acylation of β-amino alcohol by acyl migration following enzyme-catalyzed esterification

Lipase-catalyzed n-acylations of β-amino alcohols such as ethanolamine and l-serine were investigated. To prepare n-acyl derivatives by taking advantage of the acyl migration, we first carried out a screening of suitable enzymes for the desired reaction. As a result, we found a higher activity for n-acylation with Lipase L. This lipase had higher hydrolytic activity for the o-acyl compound but not the n-acyl compound. The observation shows that n-acylation results from the esterification and successive acyl migration into the amino group. Using Lipase L, we then investigated the n-acylation of ethanolamine or l-serine with fatty acids as acyl donors. The reaction parameters for the n-acylation were clarified.     

Mapping of the Gene for Machado-Joseph Disease within a 3.6-cM Interval Flanked by D14S291/D14S280 and D14S81, on the Basis of Studies of Linkage and Linkage Disequilibrium in 24 Japanese Families

The gene locus of Machado-Joseph disease (MJD) has recently been mapped within a 29-cM subregion of 14q chromosome. We did a linkage study of 24 multigenerational MJD Japanese pedigrees, in an attempt to narrow the candidate region of this gene. Pairwise and multipoint linkage analysis, together with haplotype segregation analysis, led to the conclusion that the MJD gene is located at the 6.8-cM interval between D14S256 and D14S81 (Z_max = 24.78, multipoint linkage analysis). D14S291 and D14S280, located at the center of this interval, showed no obligate recombination with the MJD gene (Z_max = 5.93 for D14S291 and 9.99 for D14S280). A weak, but significant, linkage disequilibrium of MJD gene was noted with D14S81 (P < .05) but not with D14S291 or D14S280. These results suggest that a 3.6-cM interval flanked by D14S291/D14S280 and D14S81 is the most likely location of the MJD gene and that it is closest to D14S81.